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Is AutoNation (AN) Stock Outpacing Its Retail-Wholesale Peers This Year?

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The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AutoNation (AN - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

AutoNation is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 221 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. AutoNation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AN's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AN has returned about 67.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have gained an average of 17.1%. This means that AutoNation is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Arhaus, Inc. (ARHS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.1%.

The consensus estimate for Arhaus, Inc.'s current year EPS has increased 1.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, AutoNation is a member of the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry, which includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #38 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 44.3% this year, meaning that AN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Arhaus, Inc. falls under the Retail - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 20 stocks and is ranked #177. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.7%.

Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to AutoNation and Arhaus, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.


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